源氏物語 サイデンステッカー訳  02 帚木　

2020.12.29　更新2021.1.11

Chapter 02 The Broom Tree 　２章　箒の木　箒木(ははきぎ)

●“The shining Genji”: it was almost too grand a name.
「光源氏」 それは余りに大きな名前です。

Yet he did not escape criticism for numerous little adventures.
彼は、非難を避けることはできません｜数多くのちいさな冒険のために｜。

It seemed indeed that his indiscretions might give him a name for frivolity,
彼の無分別な行動が、彼に、軽率という名前を与えたようにみえます、

and he did what he could to hide them.
彼は、それらを隠すために、出来る事をしたのです。

But his most secret affairs (such is the malicious work of the gossips) became common talk.
しかし、彼の最も秘密の出来事 (それはゴシップの悪意ある仕事です) は、だれでも知っているお話となりました。

If, on the other hand, he were to go through life concerned only for his name and avoid all these interesting and amusing little affairs, then he would be laughed to shame by the likes of the lieutenant of Katano.
一方、もし万一、彼が、生涯を自分の名前だけに関わって生き、こんな面白いちっちゃな出来事は避けるのであれば、交野少将のような人からは笑われて侮辱されるでしょう。

●Still a guards captain, Genji spent most of his time at the palace, going infrequently to the Sanjo mansion of his father-in-law.
まだ、近衛中将で、源氏は殆どの時間を宮廷ですごし、義理の父の三条邸にはたまにしか行きません。

The people there feared that he might have been stained by the lavender of Kasugano.
(三条邸の)人達は、恐れました｜彼は、春日野のラベンダーの染みがついてしまったのではないかと｜。

Though in fact he had an instinctive dislike for the promiscuity he saw all around him, he had a way of sometimes turning against his own better inclinations and causing unhappiness.
実際は彼は周りに見る混乱が本能的に嫌いなのですが、時々、彼自身のよりよい性向とは反対方向に向かい、不幸を引き起こするという傾向があります。

●The summer rains came, the court was in retreat,
夏の雨(梅雨)が来ました、宮廷は退去中です

and an even longer interval than usual had passed since his last visit to Sanjo.
そして、いつもより長い時間が過ぎました｜彼が最後に三条邸を訪れて以来｜。

Though the minister and his family were much put out, they spared no effort to make him feel welcome.
左大臣も家族も、大層、気を悪くしましたが、源氏が歓迎されていると感じるための努力は惜しみませんでた。

The minister’s sons were more attentive than to the emperor himself.
The minister’s sons were more attentive than usual to the emperor himself.
左大臣の御子息たちは、いつもより、帝に、気を使っています。

Genji was on particularly good terms with To no Chujo.
源氏は、とりわけ、頭の中将と良い関係にあります。

They enjoyed music together and more frivolous diversions as well.
彼らは、共に、音楽を楽しみ、もっとうわついた気晴らしも、楽しみました。

To no Chujo was of an amorous nature 　頭の中将は、多情な性格で、

and not at all comfortable in the apartments which his father-in-law, the Minister of the Right, had at great expense provided for him.
彼の義理の父の右大臣が多額の費用をかけて彼に与えた部屋は、全然居心地よくありませんでした。

At Sanjo with his own family, on the other hand, he took very good care of his rooms,
一方で、三条邸では、彼の家族と共にあって、自分の部屋の面倒はよくみました。、

and when Genji came and went the two of them were always together.
源氏が、往き来するときは、二人は、いつも一緒でした。

They were a good match for each other in study and at play.
彼らは、いい競争相手でした｜学業でも遊びでも｜。

Reserve quite disappeared between them.
遠慮は、二人の間には、完全に消滅しました。

●It had been raining all day. 　一日中、雨でした。

There were fewer courtiers than usual in the royal presence.
通常より少ない廷臣が、帝のまえに参列していました。

Back in his own palace quarters, also unusually quiet, Genji pulled a lamp near and sought to while away the time with his books.
源氏は、宮廷の自分の部屋にもどり、いつもの様に静かにいて、近くのランプを引き寄せ、本をよみながらのんびり時間を過ごそうとしていました。

He had To no Chujo with him. 　　傍には、頭の中将がいました。

Numerous pieces of colored paper, obviously letters, lay on a shelf.
数多くの色付きの紙、明らかに手紙です、が棚の上にありました。

To no Chujo made no attempt to hide his curiosity.
頭の中将は、好奇心を隠そうとはしませんでした。

●“Well,” said Genji, “there are some I might let you see.
源氏は、言いました、「ねえ、お見せしてもいいものが、いくつかあるよ。

But there are some I think it better not to.”
でも、お見せしないほうがいいのも、いくつかある。」

●“You miss the point.   「的外れだね。

The ones I want to see are precisely the ones you want to hide.
私が見たいのは、まさに、貴方が隠したいやつなのさ。

The ordinary ones ? 　　ふつうのやつだって？

I’m not much of a hand at the game, you know,
俺は、そんなゲームに関わっている余裕はないけど、

but even I am up to the ordinary give and take.
私ですら、普通のやりとりは、手掛けているさ。

But the ones from ladies who think you are not doing right by them, who sit alone through an evening and wait for you to come -
しかし、あなたに正当に扱われていないと思っている女性たち、一晩中じっと、あなたが来るのを待っている女性たち、からの手紙、

those are the ones I want to see.”
そういうのが、私がみたいやつさ。」

●It was not likely that really delicate letters would be left scattered on a shelf,
本当にデリケートな手紙が棚のうえに散らばって残されているなんてことはありそうにない。

and it may be assumed that the papers treated so carelessly were the less important ones.
推測できます｜不注意に扱われている手紙は、そんなに重要なやつじゃないことは｜。

●“You do have a variety of them,” said To no Chujo, reading the correspondence through piece by piece.
「いろんなのがあるね」 頭の中将は、言いました、手紙を一つ一つ読みながら。

This will be from her, and this will be from her, he would say.
これは、彼女からのだ、これは、彼女からのだ、彼は、言うでしょう。

Sometimes he guessed correctly and sometimes he was far afield, to Genji’s great amusement.
時に彼は、正しく推測し、時に全く外れました、源氏にとってとても面白いことに。

Genji was brief with his replies and let out no secrets.
源氏は、短く受け答えし、秘密は残しませんでした。

●“It is I who should be asking to see your collection.

(源氏)「私こそ、あなたの収集(手紙)をみせてくれと頼むべきさ。

No doubt it is huge. 　　間違いなく、大きいよ。

When I have seen it I shall be happy to throw my files open to you.”
それを見たら、私も喜んで、私のファイルを貴方にお開きしますよ。」

●“I fear there is nothing that would interest you.”
「あなたを面白がらせるようなものは、何もありませんよ。」

To no Chujo was in a contemplative mood. 　頭の中将は、瞑想的な気分でした。

“It is with women as it is with everything else: the flawless ones are very few indeed.
「女性に関しては、他の何事とも一緒なんだ。欠点のないやつなんて、実に少ない。

This is a sad fact which I have learned over the years.
これは、悲しい事実さ｜わたしが長年かけて学んだ｜。

All manner of women seem presentable enough at first.
女性のすべての振る舞いは、最初は十分プレゼン可能(演技･表現)です。

Little notes, replies to this and that, they all suggest sensibility and cultivation.
短い書付、あれやこれやへの返事、それらは皆、感性や教養を示唆します。

But when you begin sorting out the really superior ones you find that there are not many who have to be on your list.
しかし、本当にずらしい人を選び始めると、リストに載せるべき人はそんなに大勢いないことがわかります。

Each has her little tricks and she makes the most of them, getting in her slights at rivals, so broad sometimes that you almost have to blush.
女は、それぞれにちょっとしたトリックをもっていて、それを最大限利用し、ライバルに侮辱の言葉を与え、時には余りに広いので、あなたは、赤面せざるをえません。

Hidden away by loving parents who build brilliant futures for them, they let word get out of this little talent and that little accomplishment and you are all in a stir.
彼女たちのために輝かしい未来を築いてくれる愛すべき両親に、箱入り状態に隠されて、彼女たちは、小さな才能から言葉を紡ぎ出して、あの小さな成果で、あなたは、大騒ぎ。

They are young and pretty and amiable and carefree, and in their boredom they begin to pick up a little from their elders, and in the natural course of things they begin to concentrate on one particular hobby and make something of it.
彼女たちは、若く綺麗で愛らしく気まま、そして退屈な時に年上の人達からちょっと習得して、自然の成り行きで、ある一つの趣味に集中し始めて、なんとかものにするのです。

A woman tells you all about it and hides the weak points and brings out the strong ones as if they were everything, and you can’t very well call her a liar.
ある女性(彼女に仕える女房のこと)は、あなたに、その事を伝え、彼女の弱点は隠し、得意な点を、まるでそれがすべてであるかのように持ち出る。あなたは、彼女が嘘つきだとは言えません。

So you begin keeping company, and it is always the same.
そして、あなたは、付き合いを始める、いつも同じです。

The fact is not up to the advance notices.”
事実は、事前通告次第じゃないんだ。」

●To no Chujo sighed a sigh clearly based on experience.
頭の中将は、ためいきをつきました｜明らかに経験に基いて｜。

Some of what he had said, though not all, accorded with Genji’s own experience.
彼の言ったことのいくつかは、すべてではありませんが、源氏自身の経験と合致しています。

“And have you come upon any,” said Genji, smiling, “who would seem to have nothing at all to recommend them?”
源氏は笑ながらいいました、「あなたは、出会いましたか｜推薦するに足る何物ももたない人に｜？」

●“Who would be fool enough to notice such a woman?
「誰が、十分おばかで、そんな女に気付けないのですか？

And in any case, I should imagine that women with no merits are as rare as women with no faults.
とにかく、私は思います、取り柄のない女は、欠点のない女とおんなじくらい希です。

If a woman is of good family and well taken care of, then the things she is less than proud of are hidden and she gets by well enough.
もし女性が、良い家の出で、十分世話をされていれば、彼女がそれほど得意でない事柄は隠され、十分うまくすり抜けます。

When you come to the middle ranks, each woman has her own little inclinations and there are thousands of ways to separate one from another.
中流階級になると、各女性は、自身の小さな性向をもち、それぞれを区別するには、何千もの方法があります。

And when you come to the lowest - well, who really pays much attention?”
そして、下流階級になると - 誰が注意を払うでしょうか？」

He appeared to know everything. 　彼は、すべてを知っているようにみえました。

Genji was by now deeply interested. 　源氏は、今では、かなりそそられています。

●“You speak of three ranks,” he said, “but is it so easy to make the division?
源氏は言いました、「あなたは三つの階級を言った。区別は簡単なのですか？

There are well-born ladies who fall in the world
良い家柄に生れたけれど、この世で没落した人もいる

and there are people of no background who rise to the higher ranks and build themselves fine houses as if intended for them all along.
バックグラウンドは無くて、高い階級に昇り、まるで彼らのために意図されていたかのように素晴らしい家を建てる人もいる。

How would you fit such people into your system?”
こんな人達をあなたのシステムのどこに位置づけますか？」

●At this point two young courtiers, a guards officer and a functionary in the ministry of rites, appeared on the scene, to attend the emperor in his retreat.
この時、二人の廷臣、警護将校(左馬守)と儀式庁の役人、がこのシーンに登場、帝の退去に参加するために。

Both were devotees of the way of love and both were good talkers.
二人とも、愛の道の愛好者で、二人とも、話上手でした。

To no Chujo, as if he had been waiting for them, invited their views on the question that had just been asked.
頭の中将は、まるで彼らを待っていたかのように、彼らの意見を求めました｜丁度問われていた問題についての｜。

The discussion progressed, and included a number of rather unconvincing points.
議論は進みました、むしろ疑問のある問題も沢山含まれていました。

●“Those who have just arrived at high position,” said one of the newcomers, “do not attract the same sort of notice as those who were born to it.
新参者の一人が言いました、「高い地位に丁度着いた人達は、そこに生れついた人達と同じ種類の注目をえるわけではない。

And those who were born to the highest rank but somehow do not have the right backing - in spirit they may be as proud and noble as ever, but they cannot hide their deficiencies.
そして、高い階級に生れたけれど、なぜか正しい支援がない人は、精神上は、ずっと誇り高く高貴かもしれませんが、彼女たちの不足点をかくすことができません。

And so I think that they should both be put in your middle rank.
私は、彼女たちは、貴方のいう中流階級に置くべきと思います。

●“There are those whose families are not quite of the highest rank but who go off and work hard in the provinces.
「最高の上流階級出ではないけれど、田舎の地域に出て、ちゃんと働いた人達がいます。

They have their place in the world, though there are all sorts of little differences among them.
彼らは、この世に彼らの場所を持っています、彼らの間には、あらゆる種類の小さな違いがありますが。

Some of them would belong on anyone’s list.
そんな彼女たちの何人かは、みんなのリストに載るでしょう。

So it is these days. 　　それが今日このごろです。

Myself, I would take a woman from a middling family over one who has rank and nothing else.
私なら、中流の家からの女を選びます｜地位はあるが、他に何もない女よりは｜。

Let us say someone whose father is almost but not quite a councillor.
父が、顧問官ではないが、ほぼ、顧問官であるような女のひとのことを語ります。

Someone who has a decent enough reputation and comes from a decent enough family and can live in some luxury.
その人は、十分まともな評判を持ち、十分まともな家の出で、贅沢に暮らす事ができます。

Such people can be very pleasant. 　そのような人は、とても楽しいです。

There is nothing wrong with the household arrangements,
家のお御膳立てに、何も問題ありません。

and indeed a daughter can sometimes be set out in a way that dazzles you.
実際、時には、あなたの目をくらますような娘が作りだされます。

I can think of several such women it would be hard to find fault with.
欠点を見つけるのが困難なそんな女性を何人も知っています。

When they go into court service, they are the ones the unexpected favors have a way of falling on.
宮仕えに出れば、彼女たちにこそ、予期せぬ幸運が、降り落ちてくるのです。

I have seen cases enough of it, I can tell you.’
そんなケースを沢山みました、ほんとうです。」

●Genji smiled. “And so a person should limit himself to girls with money?”
源氏は、微笑みます、「お金を持った女性に限るべきなんだね？」

“That does not sound like you,” said To no Chujo.
「あなたとは、おもえませんね。」 頭の中将は、言いました。

●“When a woman has the highest rank and a spotless reputation,” continued the other,
(左馬守)「ある女が最高の地位と、非のうちどころのない評判を持っているが、

“but something has gone wrong with her upbringing, something is wrong in the way she puts herself forward, you wonder how it can possibly have been allowed to happen.
何かが、彼女の養育にうまくいかなくなり、何かが、彼女を前に押し出すのにうまくいかなくなり、あなたは、いぶかります｜なんでそんなことがおこることが許されたのかと｜。

But when all the conditions are right and the girl herself is pretty enough, she is taken for granted.
しかし、すべての条件がうまく行き、その女性が十分美しければ、彼女は当然の様に認められます。

There is no cause for the least surprise. 　少しも驚くことはありません。

Such ladies are beyond the likes of me, and so I leave them where they are, the highest of the high.
そんな女性は、私の好みを越えています、私は、彼女たちを、うち置きます｜彼女たちの居る、上の上の位置に｜。

There are surprisingly pretty ladies wasting away behind tangles of weeds, and hardly anyone even knows of their existence.
驚くほど美しい女性がいます｜衰弱しながら｜雑草のもつれの裏に｜、そして、誰も、彼女の存在を知りません。

The first surprise is hard to forget. 　最初(に会ったとき)の驚きは、忘れられません。

There she is, a girl with a fat, sloppy old father and boorish brothers and a house that seems common at best.
彼女がいます、女です｜太ったぞんざいな年老いた父と、がさつな兄弟と一緒にいる｜普通並みの家で｜。

Off in the women’s rooms is a proud lady who has acquired bits and snatches of this and that.
女性部屋の奥に、気位の高い女性がいます｜あれやこれやの細々した物を習得した｜。

説明　前の文のa girlと、この文のa proud ladyとの関係は、よくわかりません。

You get wind of them, however small the accomplishments may be, and they take hold of your imagination.
あなたは、それらをかぎつけます、彼女の達成がいかに小さくとも、そして、それらは、あなたの想像を掌握します。

She is not the equal of the one who has everything, of course, but she has her charm.
彼女は、すべてを持っている人と匹敵するわけではありませんが、彼女には彼女の魅惑があります。

She is not easy to pass by.” 　彼女のそばを通り過ぎるのは、簡単ではありません。」

●He looked at his companion, the young man from the ministry of rites.
彼(左馬守)は、儀式庁から来た若者(式部丞)を見つめました。

The latter was silent, wondering if the reference might be to his sisters, just then coming into their own as subjects for conversation.
式部丞は、黙っています、話していたのが彼の姉妹のことではないかといぶかりながら、

Genji, it would seem, was thinking that on the highest levels there were sadly few ladies to bestow much thought upon.
思われました｜源氏は、考えているのではないかと||最高のレベルには、期待をかけるべき女は悲しい程少ないと||｜。

He was wearing several soft white singlets with an informal court robe thrown loosely over them.
源氏は、柔らかい白下着を何枚か着て、非公式の宮廷着を、ゆるく羽織っていました。

As he sat in the lamplight leaning against an armrest, his companions almost wished that he were a woman.
源氏が、灯の下ひじ掛けにより添って座っていると、周りの人達は、彼が女であるかのように望みました。

Even the “highest of the high” might seem an inadequate match for him.
最上級の最上級ですら、源氏には、不釣り合いにおもえます。

They talked on, of the varieties of women.
彼らは、話し続けました、様々な女性について。

●“A man sees women, all manner of them, who seem beyond reproach,” said the guards officer, “but when it comes to picking the wife who must be everything, matters are not simple.
(佐馬頭)「男が、女を見て、そのすべての振る舞いを見て、申し分がないと思う、しかし、いざ、すべてであらねばならない妻として選ぶ段には、ことは、簡単ではありません。

The emperor has trouble, after all, finding the minister who has all the qualifications.
帝は、苦労します、あらゆる資格を持つ大臣を見つけるには。

A man may be very wise, but no man can govern by himself.
男は、非常に賢いかもしれません、しかし、誰も、自分自身を管理できません。

Superior is helped by subordinate, subordinate defers to superior, and so affairs proceed by agreement and concession.
上の者は、下の者に助けられ、下の者は上の者に従う、物事は、同意と譲歩によって進むのです。

But when it comes to choosing the woman who is to be in charge of your house, the qualifications are altogether too many.
しかし、家の管理をする女を選ぶ段には、資格は、非常に数多くなります。

A merit is balanced by a defect, there is this good point and that bad point, and even women who though not perfect can be made to do are not easy to find.

I would not like to have you think me a profligate who has to try them all.

But it is a question of the woman who must be everything,

and it seems best, other things being equal, to find someone who does not require shaping and training, someone who has most of the qualifications from the start.

The man who begins his search with all this in mind must be reconciled to searching for a very long time.

●“He comes upon a woman not completely and in every way to his liking but he makes certain promises and finds her hard to give up.

The world praises him for his honest heart and begins to note good points in the woman too; and why not?

But I have seen them all, and I doubt that there are any genuinely superior specimens among them.

What about you gentlemen so far above us?

How is it with you when you set out to choose your ladies?

●“There are those who are young enough and pretty enough and who take care of themselves as if no particle of dust were allowed to fall upon them.

When they write letters they choose the most inoffensive words, and the ink is so faint a man can scarcely read them.

He goes to visit, hoping for a real answer.

She keeps him waiting and finally lets him have a word or two in an almost inaudible whisper.

They are clever, I can tell you, at hiding their defects.

●“The soft, feminine ones are likely to assume a great deal.

The man seeks to please, and the result is that the woman is presently looking elsewhere.

That is the first difficulty in a woman.

●“In the most important matter, the matter of running his household, a man can find that his wife has too much sensibility, an elegant word and device for every occasion.

But what of the too domestic sort, the wife who bustles around the house the whole day long, her hair tucked up behind her ears, no attention to her appearance, making sure that everything is in order?

There are things on his mind, things he has seen and heard in his comings and goings, the private and public demeanor of his colleagues, happy things and sad things.

Is he to talk of them to an outsider?

Of course not.

He would much prefer someone near at hand, someone who will immediately understand.

A smile passes over his face, tears well up.

Or some event at court has angered him, things are too much for him.

What good is it to talk to such a woman?

He turns his back on her, and smiles, and sighs, and murmurs something to himself.

I beg your pardon?’ she says, finally noticing.

Her blank expression is hardly what he is looking for.

●“When a man picks a gentle, childlike wife, he of course must see to training her and making up for her inadequacies.

Even if at times she seems a bit unsteady, he may feel that his efforts have not been wasted.

When she is there beside him her gentle charm makes him forget her defects.

But when he is away and sends asking her to perform various services, it becomes clear, however small the service, that she has no thoughts of her own in the matter.

Her uselessness can be trying.

●“I wonder if a woman who is a bit chilly and unfeeling cannot at times seem preferable.”

His manner said that he had known them all; and he sighed at his inability to hand down a firm decision.

“No, let us not worry too much about rank and beauty.

Let us be satisfied if a woman is not too demanding and eccentric. It is best to settle on a quiet, steady girl.

If she proves to have unusual talent and discrimination ? well, count them an unexpected premium.

Do not, on the other hand, worry too much about remedying her defects.

If she seems steady and not given to tantrums, then the charms will emerge of their own accord.

●“There are those who display a womanly reticence to the world, as if they had never heard of complaining.

They seem utterly calm.

And then when their thoughts are too much for them they leave behind the most horrendous notes, the most flamboyant poems, the sort of keepsakes certain to call up dreadful memories, and off they go into the mountains or to some remote seashore.

When I was a child I would hear the women reading romantic stories, and I would join them in their sniffling and think it all very sad, all very profound and moving.

Now I am afraid that it suggests certain pretenses.

●“It is very stupid, really, to run off and leave a perfectly kind and sympathetic man.

He may have been guilty of some minor dereliction, but to run off with no understanding at all of his true feelings, with no purpose other than to attract attention and hope to upset him - it is an unpleasant sort of memory to have to live with.

She gets drunk with admiration for herself and there she is, a nun.

When she enters her convent she is sure that she has found enlightenment and has no regrets for the vulgar world.

“Her women come to see her/How very touching,’ they say.‘How brave of you.’

“But she no longer feels quite as pleased with herself.

The man, who has not lost his affection for her, hears of what has happened and weeps, and certain of her old attendants pass this intelligence on to her.

'He is a man of great feeling, you see.

What a pity that it should have come to this.’ The woman can only brush aside her newly cropped hair to reveal a face on the edge of tears.

She tries to hold them back and cannot, such are her regrets for the life she has left behind;

and the Buddha is not likely to think her one who has cleansed her heart of passion, probably she is in more danger of brimstone now in this fragile vocation than if she had stayed with us in our sullied world.

●“The bond between husband and wife is a strong one.
Suppose the man had hunted her out and brought her back.
The memory of her acts would still be there, and inevitably,
sooner or later, it would be cause for rancor. When there are
crises, incidents, a woman should try to overlook them, for
better or for worse, and make the bond into something
durable. The wounds will remain, with the woman and with
the man, when there are crises such as I have described. It is
very foolish for a woman to let a little dalliance upset her so
much that she shows her resentment openly. He has his
adventures ? but if he has fond memories of their early days
together, his and hers, she may be sure that she matters. A
commotion means the end of everything. She should be
quiet and generous, and when something comes up that
quite properly arouses her resentment she should make it
known by delicate hints. The man will feel guilty and with
tactful guidance he will mend his ways. Too much lenience
can make a woman seem charmingly docile and trusting, but
it can also make her seem somewhat wanting in substance.
We have had instances enough of boats abandoned to the
winds and waves. Do you not agree?”

●To no Chujo nodded. “It may be difficult when someone
you are especially fond of, someone beautiful and charming,
has been guilty of an indiscretion, but magnanimity
produces wonders. They may not always work, but
generosity and reasonableness and patience do on the whole seem best.”

●His own sister was a case in point, he was thinking, and
he was somewhat annoyed to note that Genji was silent
because he had fallen asleep. Meanwhile the young guards
officer talked on, a dedicated student of his subject. To no
Chujo was determined to hear him out.

●“Let us make some comparisons,” said the guardsman.
“Let us think of the cabinetmaker. He shapes pieces as he
feels like shaping them. They may be only playthings, with
no real plan or pattern. They may all the same have a certain
style for what they are ? they may take on a certain novelty
as times change and be very interesting. But when it comes
to the genuine object, something of such undeniable value
that a man wants to have it always with him ? the perfection
of the form announces that it is from the hand of a master.

●“Or let us look at painting. There are any number of
masters in the academy. It is not easy to separate the good
from the bad among those who work on the basic sketches.
But let color be added. The painter of things no one ever
sees, of paradises, of fish in angry seas, raging beasts in
foreign lands, devils and demons ? the painter abandons
himself to his fancies and paints to terrify and astonish.
What does it matter if the results seem somewhat remote
from real life? It is not so with the things we know,
mountains, streams, houses near and like our own. The soft,
unspoiled, wooded hills must be painted layer on layer, the
details added gently, quietly, to give a sense of affectionate
familiarity. And the foreground too, the garden inside the
walls, the arrangement of the stones and grasses and waters.
It is here that the master has his own power. There are
details a lesser painter cannot imitate.

●“Or let us look at calligraphy. A man without any great
skill can stretch out this line and that in the cursive style and
give an appearance of boldness and distinction. The man
who has mastered the principles and writes with
concentration may, on the other hand, have none of the eye¬
catching tricks; but when you take the trouble to compare
the two the real thing is the real thing.

●“So it is with trivialities like painting and calligraphy.

How much more so with matters of the heart! I put no trust
in the showy sort of affection that is quick to come forth
when a suitable occasion presents itself. Let me tell you of
something that happened to me a long time ago. You may
find the story a touch wanton, but hear me through all the same.”

●He drew close to Genji, who awoke from his slumber. To
no Chujo, chin in hand, sat opposite, listening with the
greatest admiration and attention. There was in the young
man’s manner something slightly comical, as if he were a
sage expostulating upon the deepest truths of the universe,
but at such times a young man is not inclined to conceal his
most intimate secrets.

●“It happened when I was very young, hardly more than
a page. I was attracted to a woman. She was of a sort I have
mentioned before, not the most beautiful in the world. In my
youthful frivolity, I did not at first think of making her my
wife. She was someone to visit, not someone who deserved
my full attention. Other places interested me more. She was
violently jealous. If only she could be a little more
understanding, I thought, wanting to be away from the
interminable quarreling. And on the other hand it
sometimes struck me as a little sad that she should be so
worried about a man of so little account as myself. In the
course of time I began to mend my ways.

●“For my sake, she would try to do things for which her
talent and nature did not suit her, and she was determined
not to seem inferior even in matters for which she had no
great aptitude. She served me diligently in everything. She
did not want to be guilty of the smallest thing that might go
against my wishes. I had at first thought her rather strong-
willed, but she proved to be docile and pliant. She thought
constantly about hiding her less favorable qualities, afraid
that they might put me off, and she did what she could to
avoid displaying herself and causing me embarrassment. She
was a model of devotion. In a word, there was nothing wrong
with her ? save the one thing I found so trying.

●“I told myself that she was devoted to the point of fear,
and that if I led her to think I might be giving her up she
might be a little less suspicious and given to nagging. I had
had almost all I could stand. If she really wanted to be with
me and I suggested that a break was near, then she might
reform. I behaved with studied coldness, and when, as
always, her resentment exploded, I said to her:'Not even the
strongest bond between husband and wife can stand an
unlimited amount of this sort of thing. It will eventually
break, and he will not see her again. If you want to bring
matters to such a pass, then go on doubting me as you have.
If you would like to be with me for the years that lie ahead of
us, then bear the trials as they come, difficult though they
may be, and think them the way of the world. If you manage
to overcome your jealousy, my affection is certain to grow. It
seems likely that I will move ahead into an office of some
distinction, and you will go with me and have no one you
need think of as a rival.’ I was very pleased with myself. I had
performed brilliantly as a preceptor.

●“But she only smiled/Oh, it won’t be all that much
trouble to put up with your want of consequence and wait
till you are important. It will be much harder to pass the
months and the years in the barely discernible hope that you
will settle down and mend your fickle ways. Maybe you are
right. Maybe this is the time to part.’

●“I was furious, and I said so, and she answered in kind.
Then, suddenly, she took my hand and bit my finger.

●“I reproved her somewhat extravagantly.‘You insult me,
and now you have wounded me. Do you think I can go to
court like this? I am, as you say, a person of no consequence,
and now, mutilated as I am, what is to help me get ahead in
the world? There is nothing left for me but to become a
monk.’ That meeting must be our last, I said, and departed,
flexing my wounded finger.

“T count them over, the many things between us.

One finger does not, alas, count the sum of your failures.

“I left the verse behind, adding that now she had nothing to complain about.

“She had a verse of her own. There were tears in her eyes.

“T have counted them up myself, be assured, my failures.

For one bitten finger must all be bitten away?’

●“I did not really mean to leave her, but my days were
occupied in wanderings here and there, and I sent her no
message. Then, late one evening toward the end of the year
? it was an evening of rehearsals for the Kamo festival ? a
sleet was falling as we all started for home. Home. It came to
me that I really had nowhere to go but her house. It would
be no pleasure to sleep alone at the palace, and if I visited a
woman of sensibility I would be kept freezing while she
admired the snow. I would go look in upon her, and see what
sort of mood she might be in. And so, brushing away the
sleet, I made my way to her house. I felt just a little shy, but
told myself that the sleet melting from my coat should melt
her resentment. There was a dim light turned toward the
wall, and a comfortable old robe of thick silk lay spread out
to warm. The curtains were raised, everything suggested that
she was waiting for me. I felt that I had done rather well.

●“But she was nowhere in sight. She had gone that
evening to stay with her parents, said the women who had
been left behind. I had been feeling somewhat unhappy that
she had maintained such a chilly silence, sending no
amorous poems or queries. I wondered, though not very
seriously, whether her shrillness and her jealousy might not
have been intended for the precise purpose of disposing of
me; but now I found clothes laid out with more attention to
color and pattern than usual, exactly as she knew I liked
them. She was seeing to my needs even now that I had
apparently discarded her.

●“And so, despite this strange state of affairs, I was
convinced that she did not mean to do without me. I
continued to send messages, and she neither protested nor
gave an impression of wanting to annoy me by staying out of
sight, and in her answers she was always careful not to anger
or hurt me. Yet she went on saying that she could not forgive
the behavior I had been guilty of in the past. If I would settle
down she would be very happy to keep company with me.
Sure that we would not part, I thought I would give her
another lesson or two. I told her I had no intention of
reforming, and made a great show of independence. She was
sad, I gathered, and then without warning she died. And the
game I had been playing to seem rather inappropriate.

●“She was a woman of such accomplishments that I
could leave everything to her. I continue to regret what I had
done. I could discuss trivial things with her and important
things. For her skills in dyeing she might have been
compared to Princess Tatsuta and the comparison would not
have seemed ridiculous, and in sewing she could have held
her own with princess Tanabata.”

●The young man sighed and sighed again.

To no Chujo nodded. “Leaving her accomplishments as
a seamstress aside, I should imagine you were looking for
someone as faithful as Princess Tanabata. And if she could
embroider like princess Tatsuta, well, it does not seem likely
that you will come on her equal again. When the colors of a
robe do not match the seasons, the flowers of spring and the
autumn tints, when they are somehow vague and muddy,
then the whole effort is as futile as the dew. So it is with
women. It is not easy in this world to find a perfect wife. We
are all pursuing the ideal and failing to find it.”

●The guards officer talked on. “There was another one. I
was seeing her at about the same time. She was more
amiable than the one I have just described to you.
Everything about her told of refinement. Her poems, her
handwriting when she dashed off a letter, the koto she
plucked a note on ? everything seemed right. She was clever
with her hands and clever with words. And her looks were
adequate. The jealous woman’s house had come to seem the
place I could really call mine, and I went in secret to the
other woman from time to time and became very fond of her.
The jealous one died, I wondered what to do next. I was sad,
of course, but a man cannot go on being sad forever. I visited
the other more often. But there was something a little too
aggressive, a little too sensuous about her. As I came to know
her well and to think her a not very dependable sort, I called
less often. And I learned that I was not her only secret visitor.

●“One bright moonlit autumn night I chanced to leave
court with a friend. He got in with me as I started for my
father’s. He was much concerned, he said, about a house
where he was sure someone would be waiting.
It happened to be on my way.

●“Through gaps in a neglected wall I could see the moon
shining on a pond. It seemed a pity not to linger a moment at
a spot where the moon seemed so much at home, and so I
climbed out after my friend. It would appear that this was
not his first visit. He proceeded briskly to the veranda and
took a seat near the gate and looked up at the moon for a
time. The chrysanthemums were at their best, very slightly
touched by the frost, and the red leaves were beautiful in the
autumn wind. He took out a flute and played a tune on it,
and sang’The Well of Asuka’ and several other songs.
Blending nicely with the flute came the mellow tones of a
japanese koto. It had been tuned in advance, apparently, and
was waiting. The ritsu scale had a pleasant modern sound to
it, right for a soft, womanly touch from behind blinds, and
right for the clear moonlight too. I can assure you that the
effect was not at all unpleasant.

●“Delighted, my friend went up to the blinds.

“1 see that no one has yet broken a path through your
fallen leaves,’ he said, somewhat sarcastically. He broke off a
chrysanthemum and pushed it under the blinds.

‘“Uncommonly fine this house, for moon, for koto.

Does it bring to itself indifferent callers as well?

‘“Excuse me for asking. You must not be parsimonious with
your music. You have a by no means indifferent listener.’

“He was very playful indeed. The woman’s voice, when
she offered a verse of her own, was suggestive and equally playful.

“‘No match the leaves for the angry winter winds.

Am I to detain the flute that joins those winds?’

●“Naturally unaware of resentment so near at hand, she
changed to a Chinese koto in an elegant banjiki. Though I
had to admit that she had talent, I was very annoyed. It is
amusing enough, if you let things go no further, to exchange
jokes from time to time with fickle and frivolous ladies; but
as a place to take seriously, even for an occasional visit,
matters here seemed to have gone too far. I made the events
of that evening my excuse for leaving her.

●“I see, as I look back on the two affairs, that young
though I was the second of the two women did not seem the
kind to put my trust in. I have no doubt that the wariness
will grow as the years go by. The dear, uncertain ones ? the
dew that will fall when the hagi branch is bent, the speck of
frost that will melt when it is lifted from the bamboo leaf ?
no doubt they can be interesting for a time. You have seven
years to go before you are my age,” he said to Genji. “Just
wait and you will understand, perhaps you can take the
advice of a person of no importance, and avoid the uncertain
ones. They stumble sooner or later, and do a man’s name no
good when they do.”

●To no Chujo nodded,as always. Genji, though he only
smiled, seemed to agree.

“Neither of the tales you have given us has been a very
happy one,” he said.

●“Let me tell you a story about a foolish woman I once
knew,” said To no Chujo.” I was seeing her in secret, and I
did not think that the affair was likely to last very long. But
she was very beautiful, and as time passed I came to think
that I must go on seeing her, if only infrequently. I sensed
that she had come to depend on me. I expected signs of
jealousy. There were none. She did not seem to feel the
resentment a man expects from a woman he visits so seldom.
She waited quietly, morning and night. My affection grew,
and I let it be known that she did indeed have a man she
could depend on. There was something very appealing about
her (she was an orphan), letting me know that I was all she had.

●“She seemed content. Untroubled, I stayed away for
rather a long time. Then ? I heard of it only later ? my wife
found a roundabout way to be objectionable. I did not know
that I had become a cause of pain. I had desperately lonely
and worried for the child she had borne. One day she sent
me a letter attached to a wild carnation.” His voice trembled.

●“And what did it say?” Genji urged him on.

“Nothing very remarkable. I do remember her poem, though:

“‘The fence of the mountain rustic may fall to the ground.

Rest gently, O dew, upon the wild carnation.’

●“I went to see her again. The talk was open and easy, as
always, but she seemed pensive as she looked out at the
dewy garden from the neglected house. She seemed to be
weeping, joining her laments to the songs of the autumn
insects. It could have been a scene from an old romance. I
whispered a verse:

“‘No bloom in this wild array would I wish to slight.

But dearest of all to me is the wild carnation.’

“Her carnation had been the child. I made it clear that my
own was the lady herself, the wild carnation no dust falls upon.

“She answered:

“‘Dew wets the sleeve that brushes the wild carnation.

The tempest rages. Now comes autumn too.’

●“She spoke quietly all the same, and she did not seem really
angry. She did shed a tear from time to time, but she seemed
ashamed of herself, and anxious to avoid difficult moments. I
went away feeling much relieved. It was clear that she did
not want to show any sign of anger at my neglect. And so
once more I stayed away for rather a long time.

“And when I looked in on her again she had disappeared.

●“If she is still living, it must be in very unhappy
circumstances. She need not have suffered so if she had
asserted herself a little more in the days when we were
together. She need not have put up with my absences, and I
would have seen to her needs over the years. The child was a
very pretty little girl. I was fond of her, and I have not been
able to find any trace of her.

●“She must be listed among your reticent ones, I
suppose? She let me have no hint of jealousy. Unaware of
what was going on, I had no intention of giving her up. But
the result was hopeless yearning, quite as if I had given her
up. I am beginning to forget; and how is it with her? She
must remember me sometimes, I should think, with regret,
because she must remember too that it was not I who
abandoned her. She was, I fear, not the sort of woman one
finds it possible to keep for very long.

●“Your jealous woman must be interesting enough to
remember, but she must have been a bit wearying. And the
other one, all her skill on the koto cannot have been much
compensation for the undependability. And the one I have
described to you ? her very lack of jealousy might have
brought a suspicion that there was another man in her life.
Well, such is the way with the world ? you cannot give your
unqualified approval to any of them. Where are you to go for
the woman who has no defects and who combines the
virtues of all three? You might choose Our Lady of Felicity ?
and find yourself married to unspeakable holiness.”

●The others laughed.

To no Chujo turned to the young man from the ministry
of rites. “You must have interesting stories too.”

“Oh, please. How could the lowest of the low hope to
hold your attention?”

“You must not keep us waiting.”

“Let me think a minute.” He seemed to be sorting out memories.

●“When I was still a student I knew a remarkably wise
woman. She was the sort worth consulting about public
affairs, and she had a good mind too for the little tangles that
come into your private life. Her erudition would have put
any ordinary sage to shame. In a word, I was awed into silence.

●“I was studying under a learned scholar. I had heard
that he had many daughters, and on some occasion or other
I had made the acquaintance of this one. The father learned
of the affair. Taking out wedding cups, he made reference,
among other things, to a Chinese poem about the merits of
an impoverished wife. Although not exactly enamored of the
woman, I had developed a certain fondness for her, and felt
somewhat deferential toward the father. She was most
attentive to my needs. I learned many estimable things from
her, to add to my store of erudition and help me with my
work. Her letters were lucidity itself, in the purest Chinese.
None of this japanese nonsense for her. I found it hard to
think of giving her up, and under her tutelage I managed to
turn out a few things in passable Chinese myself. And yet ?
though I would not wish to seem wanting in gratitude, it is
undeniable that a man of no learning is somewhat daunted
at the thought of being forever his wife’s inferior. So it is in
any case with an ignorant one like me; and what possible use
could you gentlemen have for so formidable a wife? A stupid,
senseless affair, a man tells himself, and yet he is dragged on
against his will, as if there might have been a bond in some other life.”

●“She seems a most unusual woman.” Genji and To no
Chujo were eager to hear more.

●Quite aware that the great gentlemen were amusing
themselves at his expense, he smiled somewhat impishly.
“One day when I had not seen her for rather a long time I
had some reason or other for calling. She was not in the
room where we had been in the habit of meeting. She
insisted on talking to me through a very obtrusive screen. I
thought she might be sulking, and it all seemed very silly.
And then again ? if she was going to be so petty, I might
have my excuse for leaving her. But no. She was not a person
to let her jealousy show. She knew too much of the world.
Her explanation of what was happening poured forth at great
length, all of it very well reasoned.

●“T have been indisposed with a malady known as coryza.
Discommoded to an uncommon degree, I have been
imbibing of a steeped potion made from bulbaceous herbs.
Because of the noisome odor, I will not find it possible to
admit of greater propinquity. If you have certain random
matters for my attention, perhaps you can deposit the
relevant materials where you are.’

“‘Is that so?’ I said. I could think of nothing else to say.

“I started to leave, perhaps feeling a little lonely, she
called after me, somewhat shrilly.‘When I have
disencumbered myself of this aroma, we can meet once more.

“It seemed cruel to rush off, but the time was not right
for a quiet visit. And it was as she said: her odor was rather
high. Again I started out, pausing long enough to compose a verse:

“‘The spider must have told you I would come.

Then why am I asked to keep company with garlic?’

“I did not take time to accuse her of deliberately putting me off.

“She was quicker than I. She chased after me with an answer.

“‘Were we two who kept company every night,

What would be wrong with garlic in the daytime?’

“You must admit she was quick with her answers.” He had
quietly finished his story.

●The two gentlemen, Genji and his friend, would have
none of it. “A complete fabrication, from start to finish.
Where could you find such a woman? Better to have a quiet
evening with a witch.” They thought it an outrageous story,
and asked if he could come up with nothing more acceptable.

“Surely you would not wish for a more unusual sort of story?”

●The guards officer took up again. “In women as in men,
there is no one worse than the one who tries to display her
scanty knowledge in full. It is among the least endearing of
accomplishments for a woman to have delved into the Three
Histories and the Five Classics; and who, on the other hand,
can go through life without absorbing something of public
affairs and private? A reasonably alert woman does not need
to be a scholar to see and hear a great many things. The very
worst are the ones who scribble off Chinese characters at
such a rate that they fill a good half of letters where they are
most out of place, letters to other women.'What a bore,’ you
say. 'If only she had mastered a few of the feminine things.’
She cannot of course intend it to be so, but the words read
aloud seem muscular and unyielding, and in the end
hopelessly mannered. I fear that even our highest of the high
are too often guilty of the fault.

●''Then there is the one who fancies herself a poetess. She
immerses herself in the anthologies, and brings antique
references into her very first line, interesting enough in
themselves but inappropriate. A man has had enough with
that first line, but he is called heartless if he does not answer,
and cannot claim the honors if he does not answer in a
similar vein. On the Day of the Iris he is frantic to get off to
court and has no eye for irises, and there she is with subtle
references to iris roots. On the Day of the Chrysanthemum,
his mind has no room for anything but the Chinese poem he
must come up with in the course of the day, and there she is
with something about the dew upon the chrysanthemum. A
poem that might have been amusing and even moving on a
less frantic day has been badly timed and must therefore be
rejected. A woman who dashes off a poem at an unpoetic
moment cannot be called a woman of taste.

●“For someone who is not alive to the particular quality
of each moment and each occasion, it is safer not to make a
great show of taste and elegance; and from someone who is
alive to it all, a man wants restraint. She should feign a
certain ignorance, she should keep back a little of what she is
prepared to say.”

●Through all the talk Genji’s thoughts were on a single
lady. His heart was filled with her. She answered every
requirement, he thought. She had none of the defects, was
guilty of none of the excesses, that had emerged from the discussion.

●The talk went on and came to no conclusion, and as the
rainy night gave way to dawn the stories became more and more improbable.

●It appeared that the weather would be fine. Fearing that
his father-in-law might resent his secluding himself in the
palace, Genji set off for Sanjo. The mansion itself, his wife ?
every detail was admirable and in the best of taste. Nowhere
did he find a trace of disorder. Here was a lady whom his
friends must count among the truly dependable ones, the
indispensable ones. And yet ? she was too finished in her
perfection, she was so cool and self-possessed that she made
him uncomfortable. He turned to playful conversation with
Chunagon and Nakatsukasa and other pretty young women
among her attendants. Because it was very warm, he
loosened his dress, and they thought him even handsomer.

●The minister came to pay his respects. Seeing Genji thus
in dishabille, he made his greetings from behind a
conveniently placed curtain. Though somewhat annoyed at
having to receive such a distinguished visitor on such a warm
day, Genji made it clear to the women that they were not to
smile at his discomfort. He was a very calm, self-possessed
young gentleman.

●As evening approached, the women reminded him that
his route from the palace had transgressed upon the domain
of the Lord of the Center. He must not spend the night here.

“To be sure. But my own house lies in the same
direction. And I am very tired.” He lay down as if he meant
in spite of everything to stay the night.

“It simply will not do, my lord.”

“The governor of Kii here,” said one of Genji’s men,
pointing to another. “He has dammed the Inner River and
brought it into his garden, and the waters are very cool, very pleasant.”

“An excellent idea. I really am very tired, and perhaps
we can send ahead to see whether we might drive into the garden.”

●There were no doubt all sorts of secret places to which
he could have gone to avoid the taboo. He had come to
Sanjo, and after a considerable absence. The minister might
suspect that he had purposely chosen a night on which he
must leave early.

●The governor of Kii was cordial enough with his
invitation, but when he withdrew he mentioned certain
misgivings to Genji’s men. Ritual purifi- cation, he said, had
required all the women to be away from his father’s house,
and unfortunately they were all crowded into his own, a
cramped enough place at best. He feared that Genji would be
inconvenienced.

●“Nothing of the sort,” said Genji, who had overheard. “It
is good to have people around. There is nothing worse than a
night away from home with no ladies about, just let me have
a little comer behind their curtains.”

“If that is what you want,” said his men, “then the
governor’s place should be perfect.”

●And so they sent runners ahead. Genji set off
immediately, though in secret, thinking that no great
ceremony was called for. He did not tell the minister where
he was going, and took only his nearest retainers. The
governor grumbled that they were in rather too much of a
hurry. No one listened.

●The east rooms of the main hall had been cleaned and
made presentable. The waters were as they had been
described, a most pleasing arrangement. A fence of wattles,
of a deliberately rustic appearance, enclosed the garden, and
much care had gone into the plantings. The wind was cool.
Insects were humming, one scarcely knew where, fireflies
drew innumerable lines of light, and all in all the time and
the place could not have been more to his liking. His men
were already tippling, out where they could admire a brook
flowing under a gallery. The governor seemed to have
“hurried off for viands.” Gazing calmly about him, Genji
concluded that the house would be of the young
guardsman’s favored inbetween category. Having heard that
his host’s stepmother, who would be in residence, was a
high-spirited lady, he listened for signs of her presence.
There were signs of someone’s presence immediately to the
west. He heard a swishing of silk and young voices that were
not at all displeasing. Young ladies seemed to be giggling
self-consciously and trying to contain themselves. The
shutters were raised, it seemed, but upon a word from the
governor they were lowered. There was a faint light over the
sliding doors. Genji went for a look, but could find no
opening large enough to see through. Listening for a time, he
concluded that the women had gathered in the main room,
next to his.

●The whispered discussion seemed to be about Genji himself.

“He is dreadfully serious, they say, and has made a fine
match for himself. And still so young. Don’t you imagine he
might be a little lonely? But they say he finds time for a quiet
little adventure now and then.”

●Genji was startled. There was but one lady on his mind,
day after day. So this was what the gossips were saying; and
what if, in it all, there was evidence that rumors of his real
love had spread abroad? But the talk seemed harmless
enough, and after a time he wearied of it. Someone
misquoted a poem he had sent to his cousin Asagao,
attached to a morning glory. Their standards seemed not of
the most rigorous. A misquoted poem for every occasion. He
feared he might be disappointed when he saw the woman.

●The governor had more lights set out at the eaves, and
turned up those in the room. He had refreshments brought.

“And are the curtains all hung?” asked Genji. “You
hardly qualify as a host if they are not.”

“And what will you feast upon?” rejoined the governor,
somewhat stiffly. “Nothing so very elaborate, I fear.”

●Genji found a cool place out near the veranda and lay
down. His men were quiet. Several young boys were present,
all very sprucely dressed, sons of the host and of his father,
the governor of Iyo. There was one particularly attractive lad
of perhaps twelve or thirteen. Asking who were the sons of
whom, Genji learned that the boy was the younger brother of
the host’s stepmother, son of a guards officer no longer
living. His father had had great hopes for the boy and had
died while he was still very young. He had come to this
house upon his sister’s marriage to the governor of Iyo. He
seemed to have some aptitude for the classics, said the host,
and was of a quiet, pleasant disposition; but he was young
and without backing, and his prospects at court were not good.

“A pity. The sister, then, is your stepmother?”

“Yes.”

●“A very young stepmother. My father had thought of
inviting her to court. He was asking just the other day what
might have happened to her. Life,” he added with a
solemnity rather beyond his years, “is uncertain.”

●“It happened almost by accident. Yes, you are right: it is
a very uncertain world, and it always has been, particularly
for women. They are like bits of driftwood.”

“Your father is no doubt very alert to her needs,
perhaps, indeed, one has trouble knowing who is the master?”

“He quite worships her. The rest of us are not entirely
happy with the arrangements he has made.”

“But you cannot expect him to let you young gallants
have everything. He has a name in that regard himself, you
know. And where might the lady be?”

“They have all been told to spend the night in the
porter’s lodge, but they don’t seem in a hurry to go.”

●The wine was having its effect, and his men were falling
asleep on the veranda.

●Genji lay wide awake, not pleased at the prospect of
sleeping alone. He sensed that there was someone in the
room to the north. It would be the lady of whom they had
spoken. Holding his breath, he went to the door and
listened.

“Where are you?” The pleasantly husky voice was that of
the boy who had caught his eye.

“Over here.” It would be the sister. The two voices, very
sleepy, resembled each other. “And where is our guest? I had
thought he might be somewhere near, but he seems to have gone away.”

“He’s in the east room.” The boy’s voice was low. “ I saw
him. He is every bit as handsome as everyone says.”

“If it were daylight I might have a look at him myself.”

The sister yawned, and seemed to draw the bedclothes over her face.

Genji was a little annoyed. She might have questioned
her brother more energetically.

●“I’ll sleep out toward the veranda. But we should have
more light.” The boy turned up the lamp. The lady
apparently lay at a diagonal remove from Genji. “And where
is Chujo? I don’t like being left alone.”

“She went to have a bath. She said she’d be right back.”
He spoke from out near the veranda.

●All was quiet again. Genji slipped the latch open and
tried the doors. They had not been bolted. A curtain had
been set up just inside, and in the dim light he could make
out Chinese chests and other furniture scattered in some
disorder. He made his way through to her side. She lay by
herself, a slight little figure. Though vaguely annoyed at
being disturbed, she evidently took him for the woman
Chujo until he pulled back the covers.

“I heard you summoning a captain,” he said, “and I
thought my prayers over the months had been answered.

She gave a little gasp. It was muffled by the bedclothes
and no one else heard.

“You are perfectly correct if you think me unable to
control myself. But I wish you to know that I have been
thinking of you for a very long time. And the fact that I have
finally found my opportunity and am taking advantage of it
should show that my feelings are by no means shallow.”

●His manner was so gently persuasive that devils and
demons could not have gainsaid him. The lady would have
liked to announce to the world that a strange man had
invaded her boudoir.

“I think you have mistaken me for someone else,” she
said, outraged, though the remark was under her breath.

The little figure, pathetically fragile and as if on the
point of expiring from the shock, seemed to him very
beautiful.

“I am driven by thoughts so powerful that a mistake is
completely out of the question. It is cruel of you to pretend
otherwise. I promise you that I will do nothing unseemly. I
must ask you to listen to a little of what is on my mind.”

●She was so small that he lifted her easily. As he passed
through the doors to his own room, he came upon the Chujo
who had been summoned earlier. He called out in surprise.
Surprised in turn, Chujo peered into the darkness. The
perfume that came from his robes like a cloud of smoke told
her who he was. She stood in confusion, unable to speak.
Had he been a more ordinary intruder she might have ripped
her mistress away by main force. But she would not have
wished to raise an alarm all through the house.

●She followed after, but Genji was quite unmoved by her pleas.

“Come for her in the morning,” he said, sliding the doors closed.

The lady was bathed in perspiration and quite beside
herself at the thought of what Chujo, and the others too,
would be thinking. Genji had to feel sorry for her. Yet the
sweet words poured forth, the whole gamut of pretty devices
for making a woman surrender.

●She was not to be placated. “Can it be true? Can I be
asked to believe that you are not making fun of me? Women
of low estate should have husbands of low estate.”

●He was sorry for her and somewhat ashamed of himself,
but his answer was careful and sober. “You take me for one
of the young profligates you see around? I must protest. I am
very young and know nothing of the estates which concern
you so. You have heard of me, surely, and you must know
that I do not go in for adventures. I must ask what unhappy
entanglement imposes this upon me. You are making a fool
of me, and nothing should surprise me, not even the
tumultuous emotions that do in fact surprise me.”

●But now his very splendor made her resist. He might
think her obstinate and insensitive, but her unfriendliness
must make him dismiss her from further consideration.
Naturally soft and pliant, she was suddenly firm. It was as
with the young bamboo: she bent but was not to be broken.
She was weeping. He had his hands full but would not for
the world have missed the experience.

●“Why must you so dislike me?” he asked with a sigh,
unable to stop the weeping. “Don’t you know that the
unexpected encounters are the ones we were fated for?
Really, my dear, you do seem to know altogether too little of
the world.”

●“If I had met you before I came to this,” she replied, and
he had to admit the truth of it, “then I might have consoled
myself with the thought ? it might have been no more than
self-deception, of course ? that you would someday come to
think fondly of me. But this is hopeless, worse than I can tell
you. Well, it has happened. Say no to those who ask if you
have seen me.”

●One may imagine that he found many kind promises
with which to comfort her.

The first cock was crowing and Genji’s men were awake.

“Did you sleep well? I certainly did.”

“Let’s get the carriage ready.”

●Some of the women were heard asking whether people
who were avoiding taboos were expected to leave again in
the middle of the night.

●Genji was very unhappy. He feared he could not find an
excuse for another meeting. He did not see how he could
visit her, and he did not see how they could write. Chujo
came out, also very unhappy. He let the lady go and then
took her back again.

●“How shall I write to you? Your feelings and my own ?
they are not shallow, and we may expect deep memories.
Has anything ever been so strange?” He was in tears, which
made him yet handsomer. The cocks were now crowing
insistently. He was feeling somewhat harried as he
composed his farewell verse:

“Why must they startle with their dawn alarums

When hours are yet required to thaw the ice?”

●The lady was ashamed of herself that she had caught the eye
of a man so far above her. His kind words had little effect.
She was thinking of her husband, whom for the most part
she considered a clown and a dolt. She trembled to think
that a dream might have told him of the night’s happenings.

This was the verse with which she replied:

“Day has broken without an end to my tears.

To my cries of sorrow are added the calls of the cocks.”

●It was lighter by the moment. He saw her to her door, for the
house was coming to life. A barrier had fallen between them.
In casual court dress, he leaned for a time against the south
railing and looked out at the garden. Shutters were being
raised along the west side of the house. Women seemed to
be looking out at him, beyond a low screen at the veranda.

●He no doubt brought shivers of delight. The moon still bright
in the dawn sky added to the beauty of the morning. The sky,
without heart itself, can at these times be friendly or sad, as
the beholder sees it. Genji was in anguish. He knew that
there would be no way even to exchange notes. He cast
many a glance backward as he left.

●At Sanjo once more, he was unable to sleep. If the
thought that they would not meet again so pained him, what
must it do to the lady? She was no beauty, but she had
seemed pretty and cultivated. Of the middling rank, he said
to himself. The guards officer who had seen them all knew
what he was talking about.

●Spending most of his time now at Sanjo, he thought
sadly of the unapproachable lady. At last he summoned her
stepson, the governor of Kii.

“The boy I saw the other night, your foster uncle. He
seemed a promising lad. I think I might have a place for him.
I might even introduce him to my father.”

“Your gracious words quite overpower me. Perhaps I
should take the matter up with his sister.”

Genji’s heart leaped at the mention of the lady. “Does
she have children?”

“No. She and my father have been married for two years
now, but I gather that she is not happy. Her father meant to
send her to court.”

“How sad for her. Rumor has it that she is a beauty.
Might rumor be correct?”

“Mistaken, I fear. But of course stepsons do not see a
great deal of stepmothers.”

●Several days later he brought the boy to Genji.
Examined in detail the boy was not perfect, but he had
considerable charm and grace. Genji addressed him in a
most friendly manner, which both confused and pleased
him. Questioning him about his sister, Genji did not learn a
great deal. The answers were ready enough while they were
on safe ground, but the boy’s self-possession was a little
disconcerting. Genji hinted rather broadly at what had taken
place. The boy was startled. He guessed the truth but was
not old enough to pursue the matter.

●Genji gave him a letter for his sister. Tears came to her
eyes. How much had her brother been told? she wondered,
spreading the letter to hide her flushed cheeks.
It was very long, and concluded with a poem:

“I yearn to dream again the dream of that night.

The nights go by in lonely wakefulness.

“There are no nights of sleep.”

The hand was splendid, but she could only weep at the
yet stranger turn her life had taken.

The next day Genji sent for the boy.

Where was her answer? the boy asked his sister.

“Tell him you found no one to give his letter to.”

“Oh, please.” The boy smiled knowingly. “How can I tell
him that? I have learned enough to be sure there is no mistake.”

She was horrified. It was clear that Genji had told everything.

“I don’t know why you must always be so clever.
Perhaps it would be better if you didn’t go at all.”

“But he sent for me.” And the boy departed.

The governor of Kii was beginning to take an interest in
his pretty young stepmother, and paying insistent court. His
attention turned to the brother, who became his frequent companion.

“I waited for you all day yesterday,” said Genji. “Clearly I
am not as much on your mind as you are on mine.”

The boy flushed.

“Where is her answer?” And when the boy told him: “A
fine messenger. I had hoped for something better.”

There were other letters.

●“But didn’t you know?” he said to the boy. “I knew her
before that old man she married. She thought me feeble and
useless, it seems, and looked for a stouter support. Well, she
may spurn me, but you needn’t. You will be my son. The
gentleman you are looking to for help won’t be with us long.”

The boy seemed to be thinking what a nuisance his
sister’s husband was. Genji was amused.

●He treated the boy like a son, making him a constant
companion, giving him clothes from his own wardrobe,
taking him to court. He continued to write to the lady. She
feared that with so inexperienced a messenger the secret
might leak out and add suspicions of promiscuity to her
other worries. These were very grand messages, but
something more in keeping with her station seemed called
for. Her answers were stiff and formal when she answered at
all. She could not forget his extraordinary good looks and
elegance, so dimly seen that night. But she belonged to
another, and nothing was to be gained by trying to interest
him. His longing was undiminished. He could not forget how
touchingly fragile and confused she had seemed. With so
many people around, another invasion of her boudoir was
not likely to go unnoticed, and the results would be sad.

●One evening after he had been at court for some days he
found an excuse: his mansion again lay in a forbidden
direction. Pretending to set off for Sanjo, he went instead to
the house of the governor of Kii. The governor was delighted,
thinking that those well-designed brooks and lakes had made
an impression. Genji had consulted with the boy, always in
earnest attendance. The lady had been informed of the visit.
She must admit that they seemed powerful, the urges that
forced him to such machinations. But if she were to receive
him and display herself openly, what could she expect save
the anguish of the other night, a repetition of that
nightmare? No, the shame would be too much.

●The brother having gone off upon a summons from
Genji, she called several of her women. “I think it might be
in bad taste to stay too near. I am not feeling at all well, and
perhaps a massage might help, somewhere far enough away
that we won’t disturb him.”

The woman Chujo had rooms on a secluded gallery.
They would be her refuge.

●It was as she had feared. Genji sent his men to bed early
and dispatched his messenger. The boy could not find her.
He looked everywhere and finally, at the end of his wits,
came upon her in the gallery.

He was almost in tears. “But he will think me completely useless.”

“And what do you propose to be doing? You are a child,
and it is quite improper for you to be carrying such
messages. Tell him I have not been feeling well and have
kept some of my women to massage me. You should not be
here. They will think it very odd.”

●She spoke with great firmness, but her thoughts were
far from as firm. How happy she might have been if she had
not made this unfortunate marriage, and were still in the
house filled with memories of her dead parents. Then she
could have awaited his visits, however infrequent. And the
coldness she must force herself to display ? he must think
her quite unaware of her place in the world. She had done
what she thought best, and she was in anguish. Well, it all
was hard fact, about which she had no choice. She must
continue to play the cold and insensitive woman.

●Genji lay wondering what blandishments the boy might
be using. He was not sanguine, for the boy was very young.
Presently he came back to report his mission a failure. What
an uncommonly strong woman! Genji feared he must seem a
bit feckless beside her. He heaved a deep sigh. This evidence
of despondency had the boy on the point of tears.

Genji sent the lady a poem:

“I wander lost in the Sonohara moorlands,

For I did not know the deceiving ways of the broom tree.

“How am I to describe my sorrow?”

She too lay sleepless. This was her answer:

“Here and not here, I lie in my shabby hut.

Would that I might like the broom tree vanish away.”

●The boy traveled back and forth with messages, a wish to be
helpful driving sleep from his thoughts. His sister beseeched
him to consider what the others might think.

●Genji’s men were snoring away. He lay alone with his
discontent. This unique stubbornness was no broom tree. It
refused to vanish away. The stubbornness was what
interested him. But he had had enough. Let her do as she
wished. And yet ? not even this simple decision was easy.

“At least take me to her.”

“She is shut up in a very dirty room and there are all
sorts of women with her. I do not think it would be wise.”
The boy would have liked to be more helpful.

“Well, you at least must not abandon me.” Genji pulled
the boy down beside him.

●The boy was delighted, such were Genji’s youthful
charms. Genji, for his part, or so one is informed, found the
boy more attractive than his chilly sister.

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